Winter Everest Summit Push Launched: Txikon, Sherpa in C2

Alex Txikon and the team have launched the summit push. They intend to reach the summit early next week, as February 14th to 18th have been predicted as good weather day. Three members, Alex Txikon, Nurbu and Cheppal Sherpa left Base Camp this morning, while the other three, Nuri, Pemba and Furba, will be starting the ascent tomorrow. The team will assess conditions and then devise a schedule for the final bid.

“Hopefully the hurricane wind of these days, has not caused too much damage in our hard equipment.” Alex Txikon wrote in his brief dispatch before departure from BC. Tracker of the Spanish climber shows that climbers have already made it to C2 (Feb 10th afternoon local time).

“It seems that 14th may be good for summit. But 13th will not be good, with strong winds, and maybe that day we will not be able to reach the C4.” He further added, “there will be only one summit attack and we will try to climb as we have done so far. I just hope that you enjoy it, just as we are going to do, and now more than ever, that we enlighten ourselves with the light of the moon and give us warmth with the first rays of the sun. ”

Alex Txikon intends to climb the mountain without bottled oxygen. If successful, he will become the first person to summit Everest in winter without supplemental oxygen. While, before start of expedition, Sherpa team was hired to support route-fixing till C4, it appears that at least some of them want to go for the summit as well. Statistically speaking, they will only be the second team to achieve calendar winter ascent of Everest after the historic 1980 expedition. Cichy and Wielicki, however, climbed with bottled oxygen.

Alex Txikon and fellow Sherpa climbers made it to C4 (7950m) in a quick single-day ascent from C2 last week. They also deposited some gear for summit push. Previously, they had established the camps C1, C2 & C3 and fixed the route till 7800m by third week of January. The team arrived in Base Camp at the start of the month.

Alex Txikon bagged the first winter ascent of Nanga Parbat, together with Simone Moro and Ali Sadpara, last year. Everest will be his twelfth eight-thousanders.